PASTORS NOTES.


Chol HaMoed Apr. 26th 2008
Reader Sven Brown
Ex 13:3-14:1 First Fruits
Num. 28:19-25 Song of the Sea
2 Sam. 22:1-51 Song Of The Sea (PS.18)
Rev. 15:1-4 Song of Moses and the Lamb

2394 (shalah?) <H7971> I, send, send away, let go.
DERIVATIVES
2394a (shelah?) <H7973> weapon.
2394b (shillûh?îm) <H7964> sending away.
2394c (shelûh?â) <H7976> shoot, branch (Isaiah 16:8, only).
2394d (mishlah?) <H4916> undertaking (that to which one stretches out the hand), pasture (place where animals are let free).
2394e (mishlôah?) <H4916> outstretching, sending.
2394f (mishlah?at) <H4917> discharge, deputation.

sefirat ha'omer

3 The Feast of Unleavened Bread
(Ex 12:14-20)
And Moses said to the people:"Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.

4 On this day you are going out, in the month Abib.

5 And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month.

6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.

7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters.

8 And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, 'This is done because of what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.'

9 It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord's law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.

10 You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.

11 The Law of the Firstborn

"And it shall be, when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you,

12 that you shall set apart to the Lord all that open the womb, that is, every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have; the males shall be the Lord's.

13 But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.

14 So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What is this?' that you shall say to him,' By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.'

16 It shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt."

17 The Wilderness Way
(Ex 40:34-38; Num 9:15-23; 1 Kings 8:10,11)

Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, "Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt."

18 So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.

19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying,"God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you."

20 So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness.

21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.

22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

There shall no leavened bread, &c. -- The words are elliptical, and the meaning of the clause may be paraphrased thus: -- "For by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place, in such haste that there could or should be no leavened bread eaten."

Verse 4. month Abib -- literally, "a green ear," and hence the month Abib is the month of green ears, corresponding to the middle of our March. It was the best season for undertaking a journey to the desert region of Sinai, especially with flocks and herds; for then the winter torrents had subsided, and the wadies were covered with an early and luxuriant verdure.

Verses 5-7. when the Lord shall bring thee -- The passover is here instituted as a permanent festival of the Israelites. It was, however, only a prospective observance; we read of only one celebration of the passover during the protracted sojourn in the wilderness [Nu 9:5]; but on their settlement in the promised land, the season was hallowed as a sacred anniversary [Jos 5:10], in conformity with the directions here given.

Festival Articles
Counting the Omer

Hebrew Word:
Transliteration: omer
Phonetic Pronunciation: o'-mer
Usage Notes:

English Words used in KJV:
sheaf 8
omer 6
[Total Count: 14]

from <H6014> (`amar); properly a heap, i.e. a sheaf; also an omer, as a dry measure :- omer, sheaf
1645 *??????? ('amar) <H6014> I, bind sheaves. This denominative verb occurs only once (Psalm 129:7), in the Piel.
PARENT NOUN
1645a ('omer) <H6016> I, sheaf (e.g. Deut. 24:19; Leviticus 23:11).
1645b ('omer) <H6016> II, omer (Exodus 16). One-tenth of an ephah (q.v.).
1645c ('amîr) <H5995> swath, row of fallen grain (e.g. Amos 2:13; Jeremiah 9:21).
OMER

(o'-mer) (`omer): A dry measure, the tenth of an ephah, equal to about 7 ½ pints. See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES .

First Fruits of the Barley

"When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest an omer of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath." Leviticus 23:10, 11

The command to bring the first sheaf of the harvest to the Temple is of great significance to the disciples of Yeshua. It is an obscure appointment on the Biblical calendar, sometimes called the First Fruits of the Barley Harvest, but better known simply by its Biblical name, "The Omer." The Omer is a minor festival with major Messianic implications.

The Omer and the Messiah

On the same day that the Master was tried before an assemblage of priests and judges from the Sanhedrin, apostles of the Sanhedrin were sent out to a barley field not far from Jerusalem. On the same day that the Master was bound and crucified, the apostles of the Sanhedrin bound up the standing barley into bundles while it was still attached to the ground so that it would be easier to reap. (Menachot 10:3)

At the end of the Sabbath , before the Master rose from his tomb, the barley was reaped and collected in three baskets. The baskets of grain were carried to Jerusalem. They were delivered to the priesthood in the Temple. The baskets contained more than enough grain to constitute a full sheaf's worth: enough to fulfill the mandate of Leviticus 23:10. The Hebrew word for sheaf is omer.

The harvest ritual of gathering this barley omer was for a special first fruits offering to the LORD. According to Torah, no grain or produce from the new year's crops could be used or eaten until the first omer of grain to ripen was harvested and brought to the Temple. Barley is the first crop to ripen in Israel, so the omer was always a barley sheaf. The commandment of the barley omer served to remind Israel that the land and its produce belonged first to God. The produce of the land could not be enjoyed until God had received his due. Until the barley omer was harvested and offered in the Temple, the rest of the crops were not deemed kosher.

So it was that the priests in the Temple threshed, roasted and ground the barley omer into flour. they prepared it., the priests refined the freshly milled flour by sifting it through 13 sieves.

Before the flour was ready for the altar, the women had already discovered the empty tomb and reported it to the disciples. And while the disciples were trying to imagine what had become of the Master's body, the priesthood was busy mixing the barley flour with oil and frankincense to make it into a bread offering. As Miriam from Magdala encountered the risen Messiah in the garden, the High Priest was waving the dough before the LORD as a wave offering. He touched it to the altar and offered a portion of it on the altar as a memorial portion. The remainder of the dough was baked into loaves of unleavened barley bread to be shared among the priesthood. Along with this barley bread offering of the Omer, a single lamb was offered as a burnt offering.

By divine design, the rituals of offering the barley omer in the Temple coincided with the death and resurrection of the Yeshua.

A Subject of Dispute

The Harvest of the Barley Omer occurs sometime during the week of Unleavened Bread. It is a miniature festival within a festival. It is listed in Leviticus 23 along with all the appointed times of God. The exact date for the harvest of the barley omer, however, has been a subject of dispute for thousands of years.

The point of contention lies in the ambiguity of the Hebrew text. Verse 11 says the Omer is to be brought "on the day after the Sabbath." It is not clear whether the verse is referring to the weekly Sabbath or the special Sabbath which begins the week of Unleavened Bread. If the verse refers to the weekly Sabbath, then the Omer would always fall on a Sunday but would have no fixed calendar date. If, however, the verse refers to the special Sabbath of Unleavened Bread then the First Fruits of the Barley would always fall on the sixteenth day of the First Month but would not fall on a fixed week day.

In ancient times, the meaning of the verse was hotly debated between the Pharisees and a sect of the Sadducees. The Sadducees understood the "day after the Sabbath" as being Sunday. The Pharisees argued against the literal reading of Sadducees. The Pharisees ultimately prevailed, and as a result modern Judaism contends that the Sabbath in question refers to the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Thus in modern Jewish observance, the First Fruits of the Barley Omer always falls on the sixteenth day of the First Month, (the second day of Unleavened Bread.)

Why Count the Omer?

Beginning on the day that the first omer of barley was harvested and brought to the Temple, a countdown to the next Biblical Festival began. The Israelites were commanded to count off 49 days and then celebrate the festival of Shavuot on the 50th day. The 49 days of the Omer are seven consecutive seven day weeks. The day the Omer was brought was Day One of what is called Counting the Omer. The next day was Day Two of the Omer count, the next was Day Three and so on.

During the 49 days of the Omer count, the wheat crop in Israel ripens. By the end of the Omer count, the crop is ready for harvest and the First Fruits of the wheat crop can be brought to the Temple for Pentecost.

The counting of the days of the Omer is a Biblical commandment incumbent upon each Israelite to perform. Traditionally, the period of the Omer count is to be a time of spiritual introspection as the counters prepare themselves for Shavuot. Because it begins during Passover and concludes at Shavuot, it is a remembrance of the journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai.

The commandment to count the intervening days between the Day of the Omer and Pentecost can only be explained if the barley omer was reaped on the day following the weekly Sabbath (that is the Sunday which falls during the Feast of Unleavened Bread). If the Omer was reaped on the second day of Unleavened Bread (the 16th day of the month), as the Pharisees and modern Judaism purport, then there would be no reason for the counting. Shavuot would fall on a fixed date every year. According to the Pharisaic model, there is no discernable reason to count the intervening days. Because Shavuot is a fixed date, counting the days would be redundant.

If, however, the Omer was harvested on the day following the weekly Sabbath of Unleavened Bread, then the counting would be needed in order to determine the date of Shavuot. According to this model, the first day of the Omer and Shavuot would both fall on Sundays, but their calendar dates would shift from year to year. Thus the intervening days and weeks would need to be counted off in order to arrive at the correct date for Shavuot.

Note that the Torah stipulates "seven complete weeks" for the counting. "Complete weeks" implies that the counting was begun on a Sunday, the first day of the week, and concluded on a Sabbath, the last day of the week. This would only be possible if the Omer was harvested on a Sunday.

No Small Consequence

The Messianic implications of the Omer and the subsequent count down are great. If we subscribe to the literal reading of the Torah as the Sadducees did, we cannot help but notice that the appointed day for harvesting the barley omer coincides with the resurrection of Messiah: the Sunday after Passover. In a remarkable display of God's sovereign planning, the resurrection day was set aside as a day of first fruits 1400 years before its occurrence.

The symbolism is strong. Just as the first omer of barley was brought as a first fruits of the whole harvest, so too Messiah's resurrection was a first fruits of the resurrection of the dead. This is the imagery Paul invokes with the words, "Messiah has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." (1 Corinthians 15:20). Just as the first fruits of the barley made all the rest of the harvest kosher for harvest, so too the resurrection of Messiah makes the resurrection of the dead possible.

If, however, we simply acquiesce to the traditional Pharisaic reading which places the day of the Omer on the 16th of Nissan, the masterful foreshadowing of the resurrection is lost.

Counting the Days of Messiah

Because of the resurrection and the connection to Pentecost , the counting of the Omer is an important mitzvah for believers.

According to Jewish tradition, the counting is done in the following prescribed manner. After the evening prayers, a blessing is recited, "Blessed are You, LORD Our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us to count the Omer." Then the counter simply states, "Today is X days of the Omer." This formal counting is followed by the recitation of Psalm 67 and a few short petitions for spiritual cleansing and renewal.
Ps 67:1-68:1
Psalms 67

67:1 An Invocation and a Doxology

To the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
God be merciful to us and bless us,And cause His face to shine upon us,Selah
2 That Your way may be known on earth,Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You, O God;Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!For You shall judge the people righteously,And govern the nations on earth.Selah
5 Let the peoples praise You, O God;Let all the peoples praise You.
6 Then the earth shall yield her increase;God, our own God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us,And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

Psalm 67 is recited because it is composed of exactly 49 Hebrew words which correspond to the 49 days of the Omer count. The Psalm is seasonally appropriate because of its harvest motif. It is spiritually appropriate because it speaks clearly of God's salvation (Yeshua) being made known over all the earth.

The Counting of the Omer is a count down to Shavuot, the time of giving of the Torah and the time of the giving of the Holy Spirit. As such, it is a spiritual journey of preparation. It is a journey which is begun with Passover, the symbol of our Salvation in Yeshua, and completed at Pentecost, the symbol of our completion through the Spirit. The distance of days between the two events should be a time of spiritual reflection, growth, purification and preparation.

The Master's resurrection makes the counting of the Omer a season of special significance and joy. For his disciples, it is a time to remember the resurrected Yeshua. All of his post-resurrection appearances fell within the days of the Omer count.

On the first day of the Omer, he appeared to Miriam and to two of our number while they traveled to Emmaus. On the second day of the Omer he appeared in our midst, among the Twelve. On the ninth day of the Omer, he appeared to us again and Thomas was with us. During the counting, he appeared to 500 of our number and then to James. During the counting, he appeared to seven of our number while they fished on the sea. On the 40th day of the Omer, he led us out to a hill near Bethany, and we saw him ascend to heaven. Before he ascended, he commanded us not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father.

We waited and counted the days. Forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, forty-six, forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine days of the omer . . . and when the day of Pentecost was fully come we were all together in one place.

Let's work together this year as we keep the mitzvah of Counting the Omer. Let's express the resurrected life within us by doing more mitzvahs and spreading more joy.

PASTORS NOTES
MAY 3rd 2008
KEDOSHIM
May 3rd 2008
Lev. 19:1-20:27
Amos 9:7-15
Matt. 5:43-48

G-d told Moshe, "Speak to the entire congregation of the Children of Israel and tell them, 'Be holy, for I, your G-d, am holy.' " (Vayikra 19:1- 2)

THIS PARSHAT, one of the richest and most exalted in the Torah, begins with the words, "You shall be holy (K'doshim tihyu). What is holiness?
1990 (qadash) (H6942) be hallowed, holy, sanctified; to consecrate, sanctify,
prepare, dedicate. Denominative verb.
PARENT NOUN
1990a (qodesh) apartness, holiness, sacredness.
1990b (qadôsh) holy, Holy One, saint.
1990f (miqdash) holy place, sanctuary.

Hebrew Strong's Number: 6918
Transliteration: qadôsh
Phonetic Pronunciation: kaw-doshe'
Cross Reference: TWOT - 1990
Vine's Words: Holy, Sanctify (To)


Usage Notes:

English Words used in KJV:
holy 65
Holy One 39
saint 12
[Total Count: 116]

or qadosh, kaw-doshe'; from <H6942> (qadash); sacred (ceremonial or moral); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary :- holy (One), saint.
-Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

The Rabbis regard this parsha as the essence of the Torah and declared that 'the essentials of the Torah are summarized herein.' (Sifra). In Parshat Kedoshim, God summons the entire nation of Israel to a life of sanctity, we are all participants in a communal effort that strives for justice and holiness.

The nation is enjoined to be holy.
Many prohibitions and positive commandments are taught:
Prohibitions: Idolatry; eating offerings after their time-limit; theft and robbery; denial of theft; false oaths; retention of someone's property; delaying payment to an employee; hating or cursing a fellow Jew (especially one's parents); gossip; placing physical and spiritual stumbling blocks; perversion of justice; inaction when others are in danger; embarrassing; revenge; bearing a grudge; cross-breeding; wearing a garment of wool and linen; harvesting a tree during its first three years; gluttony and intoxication; witchcraft; shaving the beard and sideburns; tattooing.

Positive: Awe for parents and respect for the elderly; leaving part of the harvest for the poor; loving others (especially a convert); eating in Jerusalem the fruits from a tree's 4th year; awe for the Temple; respect for Torah scholars, the blind and the deaf.

The term HOLY(SEPARATE) can be applied to GOD, to people, to a book, to a period of time, or to an animal offered as a sacrifice. To be Holy is to to be different, to be set apart from the ordinary, (ordinary (CHol) is often used as the opposite in rabbinic thought and discourse. To be Holy is to rise to partake in some measure the qualities of GOD. the source of Holiness. Holiness is the highest level of human behavior, human beings at there most GOD like according to Hirsch, " holiness" is when a human being has complete dominion over ones own energies and inclinations and the temptations associated with them, and places them at the service of God's will."
John 8:28-29
28 Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself ; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."
NKJV Holiness is not found in rising above the level of one's neighbors but in relationship, in human beings recognizing the latent divinity of in each of us, even as GOD recognizes the latent divinity in each of us. GOD can make things holy as in the Shabbat (Gen. 2:3) as human beings we can exercise our power to sanctify moments and objects in our lives.

Time can be sanctified when it is used to draw closer to GOD. Objects can become Holy when they help rise or draw people closer to GOD. The Torah is Holy not only because it comes from GOD but because it leads to GOD.

It should be noted that the Mitzvot of Lev. 19, the laws of Holiness, cut across all categories of life. They deal with ritual, with business ethics, with proper behavior toward the poor and the afflicted, and with family relations. The modern distinction between, "religious" and "secular" is unknown to the Torah. Everything we do has the potential of being Holy. The Rabbis say the Judaism does not divide life into the Holy and the Profane, but into the Holy and the not -yet - Holy. It is a way of life that endeavors to transform virtually every human action into a means of communion with GOD.

The Talmud (BT Yev. 20a) says, " achieve Holiness within the realm of the permitted (kadesh et atm'kha ba-mutter l'kha) go beyond obeying the letter of the law and refraining from what is forbidden by finding ways of sanctifying every moment of your life. We can be as holy as we allow our selves to be. Ramban warns against the person who manages to lead an unworthy life without technically breaking any of the Torah's rules. Such a person is called a Naval bishut ha-Torah, "a scoundrel within the bounds of Torah.
"YOU SHALL BE HOLY"
In Hebrew, (K'DOSHIM TIHYU) this summons is phrased in the plural, implying that the capacity for holiness is not restricted to spiritually gifted people, anyone may attain holiness. GOD does not demand the impossible. The phrase is plural phrasing suggests further that holiness is most easily achieved in the context of a community. It is difficult for a person to live a life of holiness without others. Noah wasn't able to do it and even Abraham lapsed into unworthy behavior when surrounded by people who were not striving for holiness as he was. (Gen 12,20) When a community dedicates itself to the pursuit of Holiness, its members support and reinforce each other
"you shall be holy" has been understood by some as not only a commandment but also as a promise: Live by these rules and your life will become special you will be blessed.

Buried deep within Kedoshim is the central mitzvah of the portion and in, perhaps, all the

Torah, "you shall love your neighbor as yourself".

Lev 19:18
18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
NKJV
Matt 22:37-40

37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
NKJV

Rabbis Akiva and Hillel and the Master Y'shua himself identified this commandment as the fundamental rule of the entire system of law. Rabbi Hillel avers that "the rest is commentary." The Torah does not tell us to love all humanity in the abstact, but rather to love all people we encounter first hand, even the stranger among us. God tells us that "You shall be holy, for I, the Lord God, am holy.